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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Jim Zorn Training Camp Press Conference

On his feelings about the upcoming training camp:
"I am excited about starting 2009. I hope everybody else is. I hope everybody is ready for some great practice watching; from my standpoint, it's participating. We are looking forward to an outstanding year. We're looking forward to an excellent training camp. I think everyone around the league is. This 2009 season is going to be exciting but just as difficult to put together as it was last year. We're on our way. We have a lot of healthy players this year. We are not starting out with an injury report this year. We've got all the guys are ready to participate the first day of practice, so we are excited about that"

On Michael Vick:
"I think Michael is on his journey. I want to wish the best for him. I think that he and Roger Goodell can create a way to get him back into the league. I could just say that it won't be with us. It just will be interesting to see how he enters back in, which I'm sure he will."

On if he can categorically deny that Vick will never play for the Redskins:
"I don't know that. It depends on how many years he's going to be in the league."

On his concerns with Brian Orakpo still being unsigned:
"At some point it's going to be a concern. At this particular time every year agents work with the players and teams and try to get everyone into camp. I think that's what's trying to get done. It's not going to happen for us today, training camp starts this afternoon and I know Brian won't be here this afternoon but as soon as it can get done- and I'm hoping it's soon, the better is going to be for us and for him. And at some point I would say- yes I am concerned, but at this point I am not."

On how much Orakpo will be affected if he misses practices:
"I think that we were satisfied enough during the mini-camps and OTAs that he was a quick learner, he took to it very well. If it comes down to him being far behind in that position then we will bring him along in that position but actually put him in on the pass rushing downs where he can do what he does best and doesn't have to learn. So at some point all those issues will come into play, but hopefully we won't have to deal with any of that speculation."

On if he thinks Orakpo will be out for a long time:
"No. I'm optimistic. It's not all in his hands. He can just say, "yeah I'm coming." But I think it's all these guys, all the players that were drafted. There's a big pool of guys right now that are not signed, so I think there is some positioning that needs to take place and that's up to those young men, agents and clubs to work it out."

Players that won't be practicing at training camp:
"I don't think one guy. Tomorrow morning I think every guy will be on that field. I do not have a list of anybody we are going to hold out. There are a few guys we are going to ask to practice just one a day because we want to maintain their health. Their going to be in the toughest parts of practice, there's no doubt about that. There will be some afternoon practices that we ask a few guys to stay out of. Part of it depends on their level of soreness. We'll just take those players one at a time and go from there. I'm thinking about Randy Thomas and his knee and neck, Chris Samuels and his knee. They might be able to go two but do we need to have them go two? Phillip Daniels and Cornelius Griffin would be other ones. They will possibly be the ones to practice once a day. It will be the toughest practice of the day but it will be one a day."

On if Mike Williams is ready to do two-a-days:
"From my standpoint he's ready to go two-a-days. He's in really good shape and he's lost a lot of weight. You'll see him, and he looks like he's done all he can do to get himself ready. But he and Albert Haynesworth, as big as they are, these guys might be able to go one a day as well. [Williams] is in a real competitive situation to where he is going to want to be out there everyday and that's part of his return to the National Football League, and that is his quest of be a full time starter in the NFL. It's going to take a lot of work on his part, and I know he's done the preliminary work to get that done."

On Mike William's weight:
"He's 342. I will let him describe it to you as he described it to me. He was talking about what a pound of bacon looks like, and that he's lost a lot of bacon. He has done a lot. I think you are going to see a lot of guys that got into a tremendous condition, they're strong, and I'm hoping as we start this training camp we keep this injury list very minimal."

On expectations of Malcolm Kelly, Fred Davis, and Devin Thomas:
"They were in here after the football season starting to work, especially Devin [Thomas] has really come on and gotten in great shape. Finally we've got Malcolm [Kelly] working daily to where his knee is not swelling up. I think he would be another guy that I would just make sure of and go one a day with him as well. I'm going to see how his knee responds to the physical strain we put on him during training camp. Fred [Davis] is looking very good and he is also very up-to-date with our offense. He's not making mistakes he's going to play this year. He's going to be a guy that's going to be on the field, he's making us put him on the field, which is a good thing. All three of those guys are looked at as guys that are going to contribute, and based on how they contribute in a few games will be more or less. Part of it has to be their performance, and I don't know how they're going to perform yet."

On whether or not Malcolm Kelly is going to be a one-a-day player to start with:
"I may do that, but I'm going to follow that through. He's probably not going to be a special teams player and some of the practice days will just be based on special teams and he won't be practicing anyway."

On making Brian Orakpo a linebacker and taking him out of his comfort zone:
"One of the things that we didn't know was going to happen, but happened was that he's a fast study when it comes to football concepts and he's able to make his body do what it should when it's on the field. As he gets the concepts down, he has really been able to make himself play the linebacker position the way that [Greg] Blache and [Kirk] Olivadotti want him to. He's reacting properly and that makes it better for us. It's what we saw before hand but I think we are pleasantly surprised he's been a quick study."

On whether or not Orakpo is going to be at the first day of training camp:
"I don't know. I don't have an expectation. I hope it gets done. He is in this big group and I don't think he is going to be the lead guy that falls. I'm making that comment; not him, not the strategy of the agents."

On whether or not Clinton Portis is going to do two-a-days:
"It depends on how his ankles feel. When he starts out he always seems to have a hip flexor that gets tight on him. All the things we have these guys do, all the different drills we do, they haven't been necessarily doing. Those are the kinds of drills that will make a guy sore so if he gets sore, absolutely, we will cut him back too."

On the veterans being allowed to stay at home during training camp:
"This year will be a little bit different. I feel I have a veteran team, and I'm not the only guy doing this, and I didn't create this scenario but I studied it and I think it has worked with other teams. I didn't want to have two separate training camps and that's why we are doing everything in-house. To do that, I'm allowing the veterans players that have been in the league four years or more to stay at home, they don't have to. But once they decide they're there. So if they decide to stay in the hotel, they're in the hotel the whole training camp. If they are three years or less, they are in the hotel and sequestered basically."

On moving forward into the 2009 season
We're definitely on the right track. 2008 is gone; we're looking forward to 2009. I can't tell you what the season entails, because we have to play it. Wins are going to come because we earn them, and that's the way it is around the league.

On how comfortable the offense will be going into this preseason
That happened a few times, I think where a concept wasn't quite comfortable enough to play with a reckless abandonment. I remember when the wide receivers, as we first started in preseason, everybody was running, but no one was explosive. And then as they began to get the concept, then you could see the freedom they had to explode down the field. I think it was most evident with our passing game, from the receiver standpoint. Once they started getting the concept, they played faster. Consequently, our production went up, our quarterbacks got a better feel for where receivers were going to be, and we took off.

On where Jason Campbell's mental state of mind, going into this year (a contract year)
"Well, I don't know if the contract thing is in his mind, but I know he is excited about playing. I know he's prepared himself very well, and I think he's most excited about getting into this second season with the same offense. He's done a lot of work with the receivers that he couldn't work with last year. I'm talking about players such as Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas, some of the newer guys that are here that he really couldn't throw to last year. So he's got some work in that he couldn't really get in last year. I think all the stuff that happened in the off-season motivated him to work hard and it kind of set the stage for him to be real enthusiastic about 2009 and what he wants to accomplish."

On the Redskins' coaches and players adjusting to their second year
"I think that every year coaches have to grow within their own program, grow with the players they have, and grow with what you might be able to do and with what you know you can't do. I think the NFL changes every year, the players get better and there's more of an understanding of the various offenses and defenses. So what I'm trying to do is stay up with the natural changes that we go through. We have pretty smart coaches. We have excellent teachers. As we meet, I think we get things accomplished, rather than just meeting and saying, "Well, here we go…" We really take time to examine all of the things that potentially can come up. I would say that we try to have a simple, yet straight forward answer so that our players can get it and thus perform on the football field."

On how much playing time the quarterbacks will receive during preseason
"I think that Colt [Brennan] is going to play a lot, Todd [Collins] is going to play, and I'm going to try to get in [Chase] Daniel as well. And the reason I'm going to do that with Chase, Colt and Todd is because it's preseason. Now, you're going to see Jason as well, but I'm going feature those other guys during the preseason. I don't know how much we'll see Chase; it depends on how much he gets it. I really want to see Colt; I think he's worked hard this offseason so that he can try to get that No. 2 spot. But then when you look at what Todd has done this offseason, you definitely can say that he's improved. He's really done a great job of working out and getting himself ready and he's not going allow Colt to take his position. So it's going to be a competitive battle for that No. 2 spot, but as of now, Todd is definitely our No. 2 QB; no question."

On the Redskins' positional breakdown
"One decision that will need to be made is who our right tackle will be. Now I know we are going to have a good starting group, but I also will be looking very intently at who the second line is because I need guys that can be versatile. On the second line, you can have a backup center, but you really need a backup swing tackle; a guy that might be able play on both sides or a guy that can play tackle and guard or a guy that can play guard and center. That's what I'm going to be looking for on the offensive line. I think our tight end position is pretty solid with the four guys that we're bringing into camp. I fully expect [Chris] Cooley to have the kind of season he had last year. I think at wide receiver, we're going to have a few guys in the mix for that flanker position. Santana Moss is going to be our X receiver. Right now, Antwaan [Randle El] is going to have to fight and try hard in order to keep that flanker position. He's easily our third receiver, but is he our second receiver? And if he is, great, but if not, then that position is going to have some flexibility to it. Our running back position is solid, but we've got to find out who is going to be our number two, three and four guy in the backfield. So that, in a nutshell, is what's happening on offense. And then on defense, our guys on the defensive line are going to be in a rotation; they'll be working themselves out. It's interesting that we have the kind of flexibility with Chris Wilson and Brian Orakpo, who are doubling as linebackers and defensive ends. That'll be new for us this year. And I think the DB group is real solid; I'm anxious to see LaRon Landry really step up and be a leader on our defense. I know Fred Smoot's going to be talking a lot. You're going to hear him from the sidelines. I can guarantee you that. And then with Carlos [Rogers] and DeAngelo [Hall] on either side, we're going to look for that guy in the middle - that nickel back and that dime back. We're trying to find out who this big group of DBs is going to be."

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